


Chipped Black

by cometthespacerock



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Albus has a boyfriend, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hooty the Owl, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Scorpius is jealous, punk!Albus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 07:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16677127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cometthespacerock/pseuds/cometthespacerock
Summary: Since the start of the new year, Scorpius has noticed so many things changing with his best friend. He's not so sure he likes some of these changes, especially the one involving the bad boy fifth year.





	Chipped Black

**Author's Note:**

> Again, something that was written instead of working on Shipmas 2018 stuff.

Scorpius sits waiting for Albus to arrive in the library.  Since the start of the new year, Scorpius has noticed so many things changing with his best friend. Arriving back after fifth year meant a lot of new changes for the pair of boys. For starters, Scorpius had grown taller, and Albus had remained short. The expected growth spurt of the young Potter was one that was damaged last winter from an incident that Scorpius doesn’t want to recall on. The second, he noticed, was that Albus didn’t eat as much as he used too. Scorpius suspects it’s another thing damaged from the time he doesn’t want to remember. But these little things don’t both him. No, that’s not what bothers him at all.

Since arriving back to Hogwarts in September, Albus had come back with an air that feels different to him. His hair is longer, and Albus proudly admits that his mother didn’t force him into getting a haircut that summer. He has random strands with blond in it, an accident Albus claims is from one of his muggle friends. Apparently, one of his muggle friends is dating a girl that does hair, and Albus had been willing to let her experiment on him. He has in a piercing in his lip, and Scorpius can’t help but think that is one of those things that his band had influenced him with.

Scorpius has only met Albus’ band once, but so far, he likes what he sees. The boys seem to tease Albus, but also protect him. They’re like kind brothers, with a tight knit. There is no jealously about them, and they all seem to welcome Scorpius with open arms. No inside joke is used to make Scorpius an outsider, but just added to include him in.

As Albus comes into the library, Scorpius notices the little swing in his step. The boy places his ever famous messenger bag on the table and pulls out the sketchbook, humming to himself. He then pulls out his quill and parchment, going to start his essay.

“Sorry I’m late, Scorp. Jake and I got a little distracted,” Albus admits, and Scorpius feels his chest tighten. He knows now what had changed in Albus.

Boys.

Albus had come out to him during fourth year, after confessing to a massive crush on older god sibling, Teddy Lupin. It was ridiculous, they both knew. Teddy was out of Hogwarts, starting his own career. But Teddy was kind, and Albus fell. The blue haired boy was nice to all, and his kindness was misinterpreted as flirting. The crush vanished in the middle of second term fourth year, but the innocence of it still remained.

Scorpius thought it was cute; Albus rarely expressed emotions like that. He liked seeing Albus passionate about something, even if said something was Albus talking over and over how Teddy took him shopping and bought him new clothes and vinyl records.

But the crush eventually ended and that left fifth year Albus which Scorpius doesn’t want to discuss. Fifth year Albus is an Albus that filled Scorpius with a new kind of hurt, and a new feeling towards his best friend. Second term fifth year Albus was a constant healing process, which gave way to their new change in routine.

Scorpius liked that change. Second term fifth year brought about the quiet Albus Scorpius loved and remembered. He was gentle and kind, with soft touches and sweet reminders of the scared eleven-year-old. But then second term ended and Albus returned sixth year with boys on the brain.

More specifically, one boy.

During the welcome back party in the dorm, Albus had spotted a boy from the year below with purple and black streaked hair, light eyes, and a distaste for all things rules. He had his foot propped up against the wall with those converse sneakers Albus seemed to like -only dark purple- on his feet. Scorpius seemed to think that he would fit as a villain in one of those muggle films Albus liked so much; Albus thought the boy hung the stars.

Albus had his first boyfriend and Scorpius supposed he was supposed to be happy, but he wasn’t. He didn’t really like Albus’ boyfriend, but his arguments were moot. Albus enjoyed him, and there was nothing Scorpius could do. He didn’t have any desire in being a terrible friend, either. If Albus was happy, he should be happy for him.

As Albus started working on their assignment, he started talking about Jake once again. Scorpius hated the conversations, but forced a nod and smile anyways. He listened over and over how Jake would write these _amazing_ poems, and would paint the most _gorgeous_ paintings. He would talk about how the purple streaked boy would say the _sweetest_ things. Scorpius liked sweet, but even this was too much for him.

One day at breakfast, Scorpius notices something on Albus’ fingernails. He knows what nail varnish is, as his mother would sometimes wear it. Occasionally, she would sometimes put a clear coat on his own so he could be like Mummy. The phase faded away eventually, and once his mother passed he no longer did such a thing.

“That’s new,” Scorpius comments to Albus as he reaches for toast. Albus grabs at his cup of coffee.

“Jake did it,” he exclaimed. “He said this is a way to be together even when we’re apart. Isn’t that romantic?” Albus swoons, and Scorpius holds back a gag and roll of the eyes. He thinks the words are bullshit, but he doesn’t tell Albus that.

It’s less than a week later when Scorpius notices yet another change with Albus. His glasses aren’t on his face like usual (that hasn’t changed), and his eyes are rimmed with smokey black. Scorpius can’t say this isn’t attractive, and he forces his legs together to try and hide his thoughts. His hair is straighter than normal too, the usual inky curls stretched to their limitations. The only thing that Scorpius pinpoints as Albus is an all black and grey attire, which hasn’t ever changed since they met.

Albus wears the black lining under his eyes with the utmost desperation. Scorpius hears a frustrated whine the one morning before class, and his eyes fall to his best friend.

“Al?” Scorpius questions, and goes over to the boy. Sure enough his curls are pulled too straight and flopping over his eyes in a way that’s too unnatural for Potter hair. His nails are chipped black, and his lip ring is present.

“I can’t find my eyeliner,” Albus mumbles. No one else is around to hear him. Scorpius raises a brow.

“Is that all? Al, you can go without.”

“I can’t.”  The words fall out his mouth pathetically.

Scorpius crosses his arms. “Yes you can. You’re going to be late for class. It’s fine,” Scorpius says, and reaches to grab his best friend’s hand.

“I can’t,” Albus replies softer, then jerks away. “I need it.”

Scorpius lets out a sigh as Albus bites his trembling lip. His eyes search the ones of his best friend. Sighing once again, Scorpius searches for the black tube. He finds it under the corner of the cage of Albus’ pet ferret.

“Draco had it Al,” he responds, forcing out a chuckle. “Put it on and let’s go,” he suggests.  Albus nods, going to quickly smush the eyeliner under his eyes. The green pops in contrast to the black. He gives a quick look in the mirror, making eye contact for no more than fifteen seconds, before grabbing his bag and flinging it over his shoulder.

Albus didn’t show up for class today, and that frustrates Scorpius. Sometimes Albus did skip classes, but lately he hadn’t been in attendance more. It’s NEWT level too, and while Scorpius knows that Al wasn’t trying to go to the lengths of last year, he also knows Albus wasn’t willing to throw away NEWT year completely.

Scorpius passes Rose in the hallway and stops her. “Did you see Al?” He questions her, and she wrinkles her nose.

“My idiot cousin is snogging by the lake. Ugh,” she groans. “I don’t know what he sees in him.”

“What do you mean?” Scorpius adjusts the strap on his bag to realign the weight from his books.

“Oh, come off it Scorpius, even you can’t think he’s good news. He’s some wannabe punk that has captured Albus’ heart. He’s _such_ a cliché,” Rose replies, click of her mouth. “I don’t care who he dates; Al’s just an idiot.”

Scorpius frowns. “Albus isn’t an idiot. Sure, he makes dumb decisions sometimes, but he’s not an idiot.”

Rose shakes her head. “You don’t get it, Scorpius. Al’s an idiot.  He befriends dumb people who can easily take advantage of him. Mum says it’s something to do with his low self-esteem, or his disorder or something. At least this guy isn’t as cocky as that stupid drummer kid is.”

Scorpius’ lip twitches. “You know his band?”

“Know them?” Rose’s eyebrows raise. “I had to go to Al’s birthday parties all the time as a kid. They were always in attendance. Obnoxious, all of them. The stupid kid pushed me in the mud so Al could get most of the sweets in the piñata.  It was _his_ birthday party. And then the water park birthday was the worst. Albus wanted to have his birthday party at a water park and they spent _all day_ tugging on my wet plait and put me backwards on one of the rafts. Obnoxious.” She folds her arms over her chest. “Al’s horrible taste.” She looks Scorpius up and down. “No offense.”

“None…taken?” Scorpius doesn’t know exactly how to respond. He sees it differently than Rose does. Albus’ friends were protecting him. They were being kind to him, and doing _his_ needs. Scorpius could easily see the birthday party situation being that Rose wasn’t getting her way at her cousin’s birthday party. He suspects Albus was probably the similar at hers.

“All I’m saying is if Al likes him, he’s probably not a good guy. Plus, stealing gillyweed for recreational probably confirms my theory. Not to mention muggle cigarettes smell gross.” Rose huffs, and walks over, tossing her bushy hair over her shoulder.

Scorpius doesn’t want Rose to be right. He wants Albus to have confident tastes in people, and for Albus to be in happy situations.  He passes by the lawn when he spots the dark purple and black. Albus is resting against a tree, cigarette in his mouth. He has his sketchbook in his lap.

The boy is beside him on the grass, camera in hands. He takes a photo of the lake, leaving Albus to be bent over his pad. “Albie,” he says, and Scorpius feels jealousy soar through his veins. The common nickname of his best friend shouldn’t be one to grace other’s lips. No, it should be reserved for those that love him. _Like me_ Scorpius pushes away that thought. “You know what we should do? A midnight swim in the lake. It’ll be aces.” He places the camera down and goes over to the boy. Pushing a lock of hair from his eyes, he leans in. “You’re so fucking hot, Albie,” he mumbles against his lips, going to press them against the other boys.

Albus’ blush spreads up to his freckles.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he repeats, trailing his hands down the brunette’s front. He stops himself. “You shouldn’t take off that eyeliner again,” he adds on. “You look way hotter with it. Better, actually. I’m glad I used that straight charm on your hair. Looks better.” He goes to press a finger under Albus’ chin and tilts his head back up and into a kiss.  He then stands up and swings a bag over his shoulder. “Later Alley.” He gives Scorpius a harsh look as he passes by.

Albus is sitting there blushing as Scorpius comes down by the tree. He doesn’t get it. He can’t get what his best friend sees in this boy. Especially after the encounter he’s witnessed. Is he always like that? He decides not to comment. How Albus acts with a boyfriend isn’t his business, even if it tears him up.

“Hey Al,” he greets. He notices the smoking stick and winces. He doesn’t like the smell. “Missed you in class,” he says.

Albus shrugs. “Jake said it was a nice day to skip. So we did.”

“Uh huh,” Scorpius says with a nod. “I copied notes for you to borrow,” he offers. “And I ran into Rose. She’s worried about you.” It’s a lie, but just a white one. Perhaps under all her scoffing she was worried. Then it wouldn’t be a lie.

“No she’s not. She called me a bloody idiot today.” Albus pulls the stick away from his mouth and blows out a puff. Scorpius winces. “Said I have horrid taste in people.”

“Not _all_ people,” Scorpius corrects. “She’s just upset about your muggle friend and the birthday parties.”

Albus cracks a smile. “She told you that, did she? I didn’t really want to invite her but I had too. Same with her. We were getting to that age where we drifted and girls were supposed to be icky. Even if Rose wasn’t a girl in my eyes.”

Scorpius nods. He looks at the chipped black and the eyeliner and straighter hair. The blond pieces were stiffer, and seemed more prevalent when it wasn’t his natural texture. He notices the way Albus is tensed. He wonders if the boy says unkind things to him disguised as compliments.

Scorpius’ heart aches. He can see through the polish and the words. The poems Albus shows him are nothing special. They’re generic. Nothing seems organic about the relationship, and Albus follows like a lovesick puppy. Seeing how they engage with one another brings height to all Scorpius fears:

Albus has shit taste in men.

He presses his back against the tree and looks Albus dead in the eyes. His hands still wander to the grass as he yanks at some of it. The green is more enhanced with the black around it. But the colour itself seems dulled. The spark doesn’t seem to be there. Although, Scorpius isn’t sure the spark had been there since before fifth year.

“Is he always like that?” Scorpius questions.

Albus shrugs. He drops the stick to the ground. “Like what? He just tells me things. Things that are true, really.”

Scorpius frowns. “What kind of things?”

“Oh you know,” Albus replies with a wave of hand. “Everyone knows these things. That stupid speech thing, my annoying ways. He’s helping me to become a more interesting person.”

Scorpius’ heart aches more. He eyes Albus sadly, but tries to hide it. He plucks at another strand of grass. “Do you love him, Albie?” The words are soft, and his chest aches for the answer.

“Yeah,” Albus replies back. “I think he’s the one, Scorp. And I can’t be picky you know,” he adds and Scorpius gives him a softer look. He doesn’t say what he wants to say. Scorpius knows what he could say, that Albus deserves to find someone sweet for him.

He wishes it to be himself, but anyone that doesn’t send Al generic poems and make him think he’s ugly would do.

Albus has been dating the boy for nearly a month and a half. Scorpius watches as his grades slip. He watches as Albus panics when he doesn’t have eyeliner on, or when his blond strand doesn’t fall the way the boy likes. He watches Albus come in day in and day out. Every day seems to change his best friend a little more.

Until one day Scorpius comes into the room and it’s quiet. Albus is sitting on his bed sobbing. Scorpius knows what it’s about. He isn’t stupid. The whole world saw Albus Severus Potter and Jake whatshisname on the front cover of some trashy wizard tabloid. Both boys had their hair askew, Albus’ own hair fluffy from sweat and the curls coming back. The purple and black strands are flung up in all directions and both boys have their shirts wrinkled.

The whole world knew what happened, but Scorpius wasn’t going to acknowledge it. Instead, he was going to sit with his best friend and comfort him. Taking a seat, Scorpius goes to wrap arms around Albus. He notices the hair is fluffier and more Potter like then it had been. The black is nearly all chipped off, and the eyeliner is smudged. His eyes are red and the shirt has tear drops soaking the collar.

“I was stupid,” Albus sobbed quietly. Scorpius goes over to pick the white owl off Albus’ trunk. He places the toy in the hands of his best friend who clutches to it. “I fell in love with a _stupid_ boy,” he whispered.

“We all do dumb things, Al,” Scorpius whispers in a comforting manner. He presses his best friend to his chest, not caring what gets on his shirt. “Remember _Bread Head_?”

Albus sniffles. “I let him do _that_ to me. And then he said I _sucked_ and Gran sent a howler, and Mum an’ Dad.”

Scorpius goes to rub Albus’ back. “It’s okay. I’m here, and you’re here. And you’ve got Malfoy the _Supreme_ ,” he jokes quietly. Scorpius touches Albus’ fringe, lightly brushing it to the side. He notices the chipped finger nails and grabs his best friend’s hand gently. “Do you want me to remove the rest for you?” He asks quieter.

Albus runs his hand over his nose. “I _liked_ it. I-I don’t want him to ruin it. It-it made me think of those boys in the band.”

Scorpius gently picks at the fleck falling off. “Then do you want me to reapply it? I’ve done Mum’s before. When she got ill— “He started.

Albus nodded quietly. He sets Hooty down on the side of his bed as Scorpius waves his wand and accios over the bottle. It flies into his hand and he gently picks up the tiny bottle and brush, carefully painting his best friend’s fingernails.

The two sit in silence and Scorpius feels his heart swell, if for a bit. Scorpius presses lips to Albus’ forehead as he finishes painting, as Al’s eyes flutter. He can see the tears clinging to the eye lashes, and the soft smudges from the eyelined eyes.

Albus gently reaches his head upwards and presses his lips against Scorpius’ as the boy makes his way back down.

Scorpius’ heart pounds in his chest.

Albus’ eyes flutter shut.

This is a change Scorpius thinks he can become okay with.

**Author's Note:**

> The start of Albus' punk look and eyeliner crutch.  
> First mention of Jake, who finally has an actual name! For the longest time he'd just been _that boy_. Scorpius' feelings grow more intense for Albie.  
> Many of the themes will be touched upon/referenced again in my shipmas prompts, so tune in!
> 
> Check out my writing tumblr [ Here!](http://spacerockwriting.tumblr.com)


End file.
